Friday, March 24, 2006

All Homeschooling is Faith-Based

There's a myth shared by non-homeschoolers and some newbie Fundamentalist Christian homeschoolers that all homeschoolers are "faith-based" i.e. Fundamentalist Christians. Nothing could be further from the truth. Homeschooling families span all religious faiths and no religious faith. But it is true that homeschooling is a "faith-based" activity. Homeschooling is based on a faith that we as parents can do a better job of educating our children than any other available alternative. We have faith in ourselves, faith in the homeschooling process, faith in our analysis of the other choices, but most of all we have faith in our children. That's a lot of faith to have out on display in today's cynical world, and there are a lot of people of all ideologies who do not share our faith. It is the nature of faith to be questioned by those who do not share it. But we have good reasons to believe in our faith and ultimately to believe in our children.

UPDATE: And people who have no faith in themselves and their children will never understand how we could find the nerve to do such a thing.

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